


Adventure Between the Shelves.

by TheSylphOfHeart



Category: Hiveswap
Genre: F/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 09:05:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16155932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSylphOfHeart/pseuds/TheSylphOfHeart
Summary: Mallek needs to find a banned book. I wonder who could possibly know where something like that is? Hmmmm.





	Adventure Between the Shelves.

Mallek walked through the doors of the bookhive, surprised at how big it was. It was four floors, each one with a high ceiling, and nearly a mile of shelving. What he had been told about bookhives was not an exaggeration. They were maze like. This was meant to discourage trolls from looking for information that wasn’t already provided to them in the school feeds, or on the heavily censored internet. That's where Mallek would generally look for computer information. He had heard rumors on the dark web that he might be able to find some copies of a book about drone anatomy that had been missed by the censors after they were banned. The problem would be finding them. 

Mallek surveyed the room, searching for anyone looking eager to help. He found the opposite. Most of the trolls seemed very uncomfortable that a troll higher than teal was in the bookhive. A few groups were whispering, looking back at him every few seconds. A few individual trolls were hurriedly packing up to leave. He walked to another area where trolls were studying. As whispers about him spread through the trolls, a jadeblood quickly stood up and walked toward him. Perfect.

“Hi I’m Bronya. Is there anything I can help you with?” Bronya fidgeted with her hair. Mallek opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself. A little behind Bronya was another Jadeblood. She was giving Mallek a wild look. One that told him he should start walking away slowly while he still had the chance. Normally Mallek would never allow himself to be pushed around, but he was trying to be discreet. 

“No thanks, I’m good.” Mallek replied coolly. The girl behind Bronya let out a sigh of relief, and the two of them walked back to where they had been sitting. Getting someone to help was harder than Mallek had thought it would be. Mallek decided that distracting a troll who was already working on something was the wrong approach. He would have to find someone already searching the aisles.

“Damn it Sore-Gor just hold the ladder for me while I grab the book.” Mallek heard two trolls arguing. He walked towards the noise and found two tealbloods. They both looked extremely irritated. The one who had been speaking was a few feet up on a ladder. She was trying to pry a comically large book out of the densely packed shelves, all while attempting to hold onto a large pile of loose papers, and smaller books. The other troll was standing out of the way looking at his palmhusk.

The girl pulled the large book back towards her as hard as she could. It popped out. The force of it her caused the ladder to sway backward. She dropped what she was already holding and tried to grasp on to one of the shelves, but it was too late. She hit the ground with a loud thud. The book landed on top of her chest. She let out a gasp, and tried to catch her breath. Papers fluttered through the air, carpeting the area between the shelves. The other trolls face flashed with concern, but as soon as the girl sat up he went back to his calm and collected state. “Wow Tagora thanks for your help. I’m so glad I have supportive friends like you who can be bothered to do something as simple as helping me retrieve a book.” The girl sneered.

“Excuse me, Tyzias, for thinking that someone as intelligent as yourself would be capable enough to grab a book without assistance.” Tagora replied. Tyzias slowly began picking up her papers. Mallek continued towards them. 

Tagora looked up at Mallek from his palmhusk and his expression changed to one of horror. “Tyzias” He hissed. Tyzias looked up and began frantically putting away her papers. Tagora was now bending down to help her. Mallek also bent down to pick up some papers. The first one he came across was different from many of the others. It was handwritten. Mallek looked it over. It had a few names he vaguely recognized. The Signless, Neophyte Redglare? Were they from a show or somethin? Mallek felt a strong tug on the paper. 

“We have this under control there is no need for your help” Tagora continued trying to wiggle the paper out of Malleks hand.

“It’s no problem. Really.” Mallek pulled the paper back towards himself. Tagora gave an insincere smile and turned to the other papers on the floor, only grabbing the handwritten ones. He grabbed as many as he could, and then stood up.

“I have to go. Call me later Tyzias.” Tagora whipped down the aisle. Tyzias slowed down a little. She started organizing the printed papers in a large teal binder. Mallek folded up the first paper he had grabbed and slipped it into one of his pockets. He put the other papers in a pile next to Tyzias.

“Thank you for your help.” She gave him a tired smile. Mallek got his first good look at her. Her hair was a mess, but her outfit was messier. She was wearing socks with sandals, and a shirt that was only tucked in on one side. She seemed pretty clean though, and her appearance seemed more out of apathy than anything else. Her smile was small, but very genuine. Mallek blushed.

“I was wondering if you could help me?” Asked Mallek. “I need to get to the technology section.”

“Of course. Follow me.” Tyzias and Mallek walked through a long hallway and down a few flights of stairs. They entered into a dimly lit portion of the bookhive. They were completely alone now. No one wanted to be caught by themselves between the shelves. You never know what’s lurking in the darkness.

Mallek tried to make conversation. “So, The Signless? I saw that title written on one of your papers. I swear I’ve heard that name before.”

Tyzias froze for a moment. “You must have misread. I’ve never heard that name in my life.” Mallek was very confused now. He knew what he had seen. Why was Tyzias lying to him? Why had Tagora been acting so strange? He needed answers. Tyzias was a few steps ahead of him now. Looking each of the aisles up and down. 

Normally the smart thing to do when another troll is trying to keep a secret is leaving them alone. It’s generally not worth the trouble. Although Mallek certainly wasn't unintelligent, he lacked impulse control. He was here to find answers to his questions, not leave with more than he started with. “You know” He pulled the paper out of his pocket. “I’m sure you wrote about someone called The Signless. In fact here it is.” Tyzias whipped around with wide eyes. 

“First of all thats old. I don’t remember what its about. Second, that’s mine. Give it here.” Now Mallek was really curious. He shook his head and folded the paper in his hands. Tyzias looked like she was about to argue. Instead she gave a defeated sigh. She was shaking; Mallek felt a twinge of pity. She motioned for him to go down one of the aisles. “This is where it should be.”

Mallek walked between the shelves expecting her to leave. She stayed put. This didn’t look like the technology section. In fact it looked like the fiction section. “I don't think this is the right place.

“That’s correct.”

Mallek whipped around. Teals aren't the strongest cast but they are one of the fastest. Before Mallek could react Tyzias was swinging a book towards him. It hit and threw him off balance. She then pinned him up against the wall, grabbing at the paper in his hand. Mallek tightened his grip, and the paper ripped in half. He threw Tyzias off of him. She took off, Mallek following a little ways behind her. He couldn't get close enough to grab her. She ran in zigzag patterns zipping around the shelves, and up and down flights of stairs. Mallek followed her footsteps. He was going to get her back for what he was certain was turning into a black eye. 

Tyzias tripped on an uneven piece of brick. Mallek grabbed onto the back of her hoodie. She grabbed a nearby ladder and hurled it between the two of them. The ladder fell on his arm, as he fell under the weight his head crashed against it.

Mallek opened his eyes. He was on the ground with a steel ladder a little to his side. A sweatshirt, he assumed Tyzias’s, was underneath his head. The pin with her sign on it was gone. Now that Mallek had been given the time to calm down the whole incident seemed ridiculous. She had every right to try and take her paper back. What had been on it? The only thing that warranted that kind of reaction was anti-empire material. He supposed he would never know for sure. He also decided he’d experienced enough of the bookhive for one day.

He stood up and began to walk towards the exit, trying to find his way out of the maze. He paused at the sound of sniffling. It was Tyzias, tucked away between two of the shelves with her head down. She probably thought this was a death sentence. She probably wished she would have killed him. “Hey” Mallek said as gently as possible. Tyzias whipped up hurling her books to the side and getting into a fighting stance. “I’m not going to hurt you, or tell on you. I promise.” 

Tyzias’s eyes were wild she considered trying to climb one of the shelves to escape. Mallek decided to take a risk. “I don’t know what was on those papers. Probably something illegal? How about I tell you one of my secrets and then we’re even. Yeah? I wasn't here for just any books on technology I was here for a book on drone anatomy. They were supposed to have been destroyed during the last bookhive purge, but I hear that a few copies were missed.” Tyzias put her arms back down to her sides. “Usually I would look for things like that on the dark web, but this was to risky for anyone to put on there” 

Tyzias’s eyes lit up. “You know how to get on the dark web?”


End file.
